Spencer portrays the head nurse at a children's hospital in the new show. 'I thought, "That's probably going to be the saddest thing on the planet,"' she said of her initial thoughts about 'Red.' '"I don't know." And then I read it and I was pleasantly surprised because I didn't realize I was going to laugh as much as I did.'

As the offers poured in for Oscar winner Octavia Spencer to join the many other film actors who have recently transitioned to television, she was clear on what she wanted.